Nurses, Unions, and Allies Urge CDC to Acknowledge COVID-19 Aerosol Transmission to Help Bring Virus Under Control

CWA is joining 44 allied unions and organizations in urging the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update its COVID-19 guidance to fully reflect the latest scientific evidence regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission through aerosols that infected people emit when they breathe, speak, cough, sneeze, or sing.

Under the previous administration, the CDC’s refusal to recognize aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 led to weak guidance, leaving workers and the public unprotected from COVID-19. As a result, countless workers in every industry – including health care, grocery, meatpacking and processing, warehousing, food service, education, transportation, and manufacturing – have been infected, hospitalized, and died from COVID-19 because their employers followed weak CDC guidance.

Recognizing the scientific evidence and making these changes are essential and necessary steps to bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control.